


Cuba

by theimpossiblegeekygrrl



Category: The OA (TV)
Genre: Alternate Timelines, Emotional Manipulation, F/F, F/M, Kidnapping, Seduction, Truth
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-12
Updated: 2019-03-17
Packaged: 2019-03-30 13:49:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 3,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13952916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theimpossiblegeekygrrl/pseuds/theimpossiblegeekygrrl
Summary: Even though I’d tried to be truthful with the five, there was a certain point where I knew I couldn’t tell them what really happened in Cuba.  I would have lost their trust, and we were so close to the end that I couldn’t risk losing them.





	1. Chapter 1

Even though I’d tried to be truthful with the five, there was a certain point where I knew I couldn’t tell them what really happened in Cuba.  I would have lost their trust, and we were so close to the end that I couldn’t risk losing them.

It wasn’t Homer who went with Hap to kidnap Renata.  How could he have taken someone he disliked so much, who would have found a way out of that hotel room and never looked back?

It was I who woke on the plane, wearing a clean white skirt and the lilac sweater Hap had worn last year, around Christmas.  My hair was loose around my shoulders, and when I reached up to touch it, there was a thin gold band on my left hand.

“It was my mother’s.”

I jumped when I heard Hap’s voice in the headset and looked to my left.  He was staring at me, and probably had been for some time.

My mouth was dry, and I had to swallow before I could speak above a whisper. “The others? Where… Where are… ?”

“They’re safe,” he said, his voice clipped, as he turned back to the control panel.


	2. Chapter 2

Consciousness came and went, my thoughts as foggy as the glass in the basement before Hap wiped it clean.

He was drugging my water. I was sure of that when my thoughts were clear enough to process such information. But now, with hindsight, sometimes I think that his skillful hands, when he brushed the hair from my shoulder, slipped one of his tiny hypodermics into the skin around my neck.

In my stupor, I would silently watch him. He already knew I could see, that had never been a secret for me to keep. But it was our secret, that he knew.

Now, I could study him as he did me.

It was always when my gaze was too intense - my thoughts making my eyes dance around his face, the control panel, to the vast expanse of violet-blue sky outside - that he would touch my hair, my shoulder, and insist I keep drinking from the bottle in front of me. The water was so clean and cold, so different from the stream downstairs or the water from his tap.

It wasn’t until my eyes grew heavy again that I would silently curse him, just before the world disappeared.


	3. Chapter 3

I was aware of vague voices around me and of rhythmic motion, as though I was walking. But I wasn’t in control of anything, merely a passenger in my own existence. When I started to come back to myself, I realized I must have been awake the whole time, as my eyes were dry and tired.

The world came into focus, as it did that first day when I regained my sight. I was aware of light, then of colour, then of blurry images that became clear after blinking. I found myself in a room, a real room, upon a pillow-soft bed that smelled softly of lilacs. Closing my eyes, I burrowed into the comforter. My sense of hearing sparked into life then, and I heard the familiar quickening thuds that did not belong to me.

_Hap._

He was close, right next to me in the bed. The heat from his body warmed my back, and the scent of his cologne tickled my nose. Dimly, I wondered if I could pretend he wasn’t there, and chase sleep in this lovely bed.

But that dream wasn’t meant to be.

He sighed as he shifted his weight. “I know you’re awake, Prairie.”


	4. Chapter 4

“No.”

Hap told me of his plan, of his desire to have this beautiful, talented woman as another test subject. 

He wanted me to help him capture her.

_Kidnap her._

How could he ask this? I’d once promised myself that I’d never let him see my tears again. Yet here I was, wet rivers running down my cheeks as I held back the sobs threatening to break free from my lips.

“Don’t make me state the obvious.” His voice was calm, even though his entire body was tense.

“I’d rather die than do this to another person.” My voice shook, and I was having a hard time catching my breath.

Quick as a panther, his face was next to mine, so close our noses almost touched. His eyes were so blue, and I was so close to him that I could see the golden flecks around his irises. “If you don’t, I’ll make sure you live, long enough to witness the suffering that will happen down in the basement.”

I froze.

It was a threat he’d made before, or at least alluded to. Maybe, if not for the drugs in my system, I would have understood the danger, before now.

_Homer._


	5. Chapter 5

We had been talking, perhaps only a week ago, about what might happen if we were separated without the help of the movements. We’d been practicing the two we’d been given as often as possible, until our cells walls were covered in steam and our bodies glistened with sweat. To see him on the other side, moving in time with me, his focus so intent on perfecting my movement… 

It was exhausting work, but it was the only foreseeable way for any of us to have a future beyond this place.

My muscles felt like liquid when we stopped that day, both sitting on the cool stone floor and facing one another.

“I’d find you,” Homer said, his voice proud and strong despite the waiver in his eyes. He was so sure of himself, or wanted to be.

I leaned in and touched the glass between us, tracing the outline of his lips on the damp surface. “You know he wouldn’t make it easy.”

Homer shrugged, turning his head to the side as he scratched his neck. “You give him too much credit.”

My hand lingered, just at the tip of his nose. “You don’t give him enough.”

Neither of us did.


	6. Chapter 6

_I hate you._

For a moment, I thought I’d spoken the words aloud. Hap flinched, his eyes widening as he backed away from me. He let out a breath, filling the space between us with the scent of tobacco and the cinnamon gum he often chewed.

“You don’t have a choice,” he said, his voice catching, so slightly you’d have to be as close as I was to catch it. He put a hand on my shoulder, and then it was my turn to flinch.

I closed my eyes, shutting him out of my reality, and started to hum.

“Prairie.”

I hummed louder, drowning out the sound of his voice. It was peaceful where I was, inside my mind. There was a field studded with periwinkles, with a lake at the centre. Next to it was a tall figure, waving for me to come to him. But when I got closer, the dark-haired man wasn’t the one who I expected.

The hum fell silent in my throat, and I opened my eyes, seeing the man in the field again, lying in the bed next to me. He was frowning, his expression changed to one of concern.

“Where did you go?”


	7. Chapter 7

“Away. I went…” I frowned, taking a slow breath so that he wouldn’t notice how fast my heart was beating. “I imagined a place far away.”

“What was there, Prairie?” He knew I was lying; I could tell by the way he said my name. Hap didn’t seem upset though. On the contrary, he was as excited as he was the night we ate oysters together, so long ago.

“Nothing. I mean…” I sighed, considering if telling the truth would be less dangerous. “Nothing exciting. Just a field where my father and I used to picnic when I was a child.”

Hap chuckled, the sound making me shiver. “Are you sure that’s all that was there?”

I looked away, at the lamp on the bedside table, focusing its shape. “It was beautiful there.”

“I believe you, Prairie, it’s just that --” Hap touched my face with his fingertips, turning it so that my eyes met his again. “I’ve never seen you smile like that, even when you talk about your father, or Russia.”

“Why should you care?”

He shrugged. “Because there’s something you aren’t telling me.”

“Do my daydreams really matter?” The question hung in the air between us.


	8. Chapter 8

We walked to the club, hand in hand like the lovers strolling around us. The air around us was thick with humidity and smelled faintly of the sea, enough to remind me of where I was in the world. A strand of hair stuck to the fine sheen of sweat on my forehead, and I blew it out of my face with breath that was cooler than the air around us.  
  
“Do you need to sit for a while?” Hap asked, squeezing my hand. “It’s a warm night, warmer than it was the last time I was here.”  
  
“I’m fine,” I lied. I did want to stop, but not because of the heat.  
  
“You’ll love the food at the club. The cook makes the best… well, you’ll be tasting it soon,” he said, humming a little as he took a drag from his cigarette.  
  
I shook my head.  
   
“What?”  
  
“How can you do that, knowing what you do about smoking?” I asked, waving the smoke from my face.  
  
“Does it bother you?”   
  
I nodded.   
  
Sighing, he threw it in the street. “Better?”  
  
I nodded again.  
  
“Good,” he said, slipping his arm around my waist.

I clinched my teeth and forced a smile.


	9. Chapter 9

The food tasted like ash in my mouth, even though I put on my brightest smile and told Hap that the fish was the best I’d ever tasted. How I longed for a restaurant from long ago when my world had been black and innocent, and a plate of crispy fries was the most decadent dish in New York.

“Here, try mine,” Hap said, passing me his fork. He watched me intently as I stared at the flakey white fish delicately coated in green herbs, his eyes following the tines until they passed through my lips.

“It’s really nice,” I lied.

“Just relax, tonight. I want you to be able to sit back and enjoy yourself for a change.” He took a deep sip from a glass of pale, honey-coloured liquid and motioned for me to do the same with mine. I was startled by how dry it tasted in my mouth, and realized that it must be alcohol.  

“What about… her?” I couldn’t bear to say her name.

“I’ll know when it’s time. Don’t worry about the details.”

I picked at my food, listening to the unfamiliar language around me until I felt I would crawl out of my skin.

 


	10. Chapter 10

He smoked again after desert, a cigar this time. The alcohol had gone to my head by then, so when he drew me close to him and placed the cigar to my lips I gave in, letting him teach me how to puff on the fragrant smoke.

“I wish we could stay here,” he murmured. “Just you and me. Anything could be possible again.”

I exhaled, not knowing what to say. Not wanting to say anything at all. I felt too comfortable in this space, and it was a dangerous thing.

“More wine?” Hap asked.

I nodded numbly, letting him feed me sips like a doll. The wine was richer now and sweet, its name flowing from his lips seductively. I held it in my mouth until the sugars tickled my tongue, swallowing when I needed relief. His fingertips drew tiny circles on my back, and in a moment of forgetting I sighed, snuggling into his warmth.

She brought me back, or at least her music did. That moment, when I could have lost myself in fantasy, was the first time I heard Renata play guitar. A vibrant, perfect sound pulled me into the present, and I opened my eyes.

 


	11. Chapter 11

Music had become a luxury that I had long forgotten about. Hap’s music – the heavy metal he favoured when was working, and the oldies that played when he was not – was not what I had been longing to become a part of. My violin disappeared as soon as I had entered his home, and with it the relationship I had with a chord, a simple note, even a long pause of my own creation. I knew that a part of me had gone with it, that inner place of pleasure that only the strings under my fingers could bring.

Listening to Renata’s music was like coming home. The perfection of each note, watching her as she moved with her guitar as though it part of her body…

“There are no words.”

His breath was on my neck, on my ear, and a delicious shiver ran through my spine at the sensation.

I sighed and let him pull me closer, so entranced by the world I was in that I let myself forget instead of remember the things that had been so important to me since my imprisonment. For a moment, the world felt as limitless as it had in New York.

 


	12. Chapter 12

It was over too soon.

The final note of her song resonated in the air like its own concertina, and I closed my eyes again to appreciate the lingering sensation as it clung to the air. I didn’t get to enjoy the leaving as I would have if I had been playing in my own, silent room, and the applause came too quickly. When I opened my eyes, I saw the same look in hers, a distant disappointment before her graciousness pulled a veil over her thoughts.

My hands clumsily came together, as intoxicated as I was from the evening. 

“I don’t want to leave,” I whispered.

“Stay with me then, forever.” 

The words were so softly spoken that I knew they hadn’t been meant for my ears. I rubbed the band on my finger with the pad of my thumb, losing myself further into the forgetting. The movements had not brought me to this place, not really. But, my actions had helped create this world of our own design. I turned my head, enough to realize he was watching me again. His gaze was intent enough that I knew it had only been set on me, this whole night.

 


	13. Chapter 13

Two inches of air hung between us. In his eyes, I could see myself – the heavy lids, parted mouth – and understood the intent of the word _desire_.

This was different than the sweetness of that other place, the simplicity and pureness of unrequited fantastical longing.

This was real.

“For a man who likes symmetry, this is not who I would have imagined you with.” The heavily accented voice broke the spell, and I couldn’t help but frown as I looked up to meet the darkest eyes I had yet to see. She had a cigar in one hand, and the hand of young woman in the other.

Hap chuckled, his voice light when he said, “My wife is a woman beyond imagination, Renata.”

He’d told me her name, before. But it sounded different in this room. I let the word glide through my mind, imagining the way it would resonate on my lips. As though she could hear my thoughts, Renata glanced at me again, letting her gaze slide over my body in a way that made me blush.

“What is your name, _cara bella_?”

“Pra-,” I looked down and cleared my throat.  “Nina. Nina Percy.” I looked at Hap and smiled, taking his hand in mine.

 


	14. Chapter 14

“So pretty, Dr Percy.” Renata whispered something to her companion, smiling as they walked to the balcony.

Hap watched them leave, then turned to me as he squeezed my hand. “Do you want to dance?”

I blushed again, letting my thumb graze the matching ring on his finger. “I haven’t danced with anyone since my high school prom. I’ve probably forgotten how, after...”

“I’ve seen you move,” he murmured, brushing a wayward strand of hair from my face. “It’s not much different, with a partner and music.”

I let him lead me to the balcony, and when the band began to play I let him lead my movements, mirroring him until I was comfortable enough to let the music flow through me.  The windows showed our reflections, and I saw what Renata must have seen inside the club: a woman, not much older than a girl with long, pale hair dressed in white muslin, and a man who was in no doubt a man, dark hair and flashing eyes, dressed head to toe in black. 

No perfect symmetry. 

Though in Hap’s arms, his hands on my hips, rocking with me in time to the bass… it was a perfect completion.

 


	15. Chapter 15

I don’t remember the walk back to the hotel.

But I remember everything that came after.

We were caught up in the fantasy, or at least I was. And when reality came sweeping in for too long I closed my eyes to it, focusing on the present and on the sensation of Hap’s skin against my own.

His lips sought mine the moment he shut the door behind us and pleasure, desire, and even my anger towards him poured out of me as I returned his kisses, adding more of my own to his jaw and neck. I was overwhelmed and even overjoyed at the proximity of him, wanting to breathe him into me as he undressed us both. Every nook, every curve of my body demanded his touch, even when pain overtook me long enough to lift the illusion away for the briefest moment. But instead of the monster ( _the Angel Hunter_ ) hovering over me… it was only a man who stared down, a man with tears in his eyes who kissed me until I was his Nina once more.

“My angel,” he whispered, repeating the words until my cries of pleasure silenced us both.

 


	16. Chapter 16

When I woke, the sun was kissing my face, and I smiled as I burrowed into the warmth of the bed. I smelled him all around me, though when my hand searched his side of the bed, it found only the indent from where his body had lain. Gathering the blanket around me, I got up and quickly scanned the suite of rooms. I could just see him outside on the balcony, the tell-tale wisps of smoke floating away. 

I walked to him, ignoring the glare of his monitors on the desk, and slid the door open. Hap looked up at the noise, his eyes softening when they met mine.

“Good morning, Nina,” he said, setting down his laptop as he scooted over on the bench, giving me room to sit.

“You were gone.” I rested my head against his shoulder, letting him slide an arm around my waist.

“You were sleeping quite soundly, have been since…” Hap’s cheeks darkened, his pupils dilating slightly his eyes slid down to thin blanket covering me.

“What about… the timeline?” I whispered, the illusion slipping as I saw Renata’s file on the table next to us.

“It can be adjusted,” he answered. 

 


	17. Chapter 17

Looking back now, I wonder if I was so willing to accept the charade, letting myself slip into the role of Hap’s lover as though it had always been that way, because I wanted to save Renata from the life back in the mine. It shouldn’t have been so easy, and in any place other than this I don’t know if I’d been so willing. 

That’s what I tell myself, at least, when the weather outside slips into a humid heat. That’s when the memories flood back the strongest, making me want to shed my stiff clothes for gauzy dresses that floated around me when I moved. If I close my eyes, I can almost smell the tobacco from his cigars and taste the sweet wine we drank after dinner each night.

I know that for two weeks, I willingly forgot everything other than where we were in the world, as though the movements had carried us both to another life. One where there was no mine, no lies, no violence. I had no past, no future, there was only…

Only Hap.

He was my first, my last, my every waking moment.

The woman I was loved him.

The woman I am now…

 


	18. Chapter 18

I knew the spell was breaking when we woke. There was a shift, a palpable distance between my heart and his. Even in the way it sounded beneath my ear, a subtle quickening that only I knew was a tell. 

His hand grazed my hair, moving a few strands from my shoulder before he cleared his throat. “Good morning, my dear.”

I pressed a kiss to his chest, silently asking for more time with the man I’d fallen asleep with last night. 

“How did you rest?” His voice was tired, and I wondered how long he had been awake.

“Well,” I said. “You took all my energy last night.” 

“As you took mine,” he chuckled. The hickey on his neck was still there long after we’d returned to the mine; that morning it was so purple that I was surprised I hadn’t drawn blood. His hand drew circles on my back, in the hollow above my tailbone. His fingers shook slightly, but enough to make my heart ache.

“We won’t be here much longer, will we?”

His hand stopped moving, just briefly, before settling on the slight curve of my hip. “We leave tomorrow morning.”

A tear slid down my cheek.

 


End file.
